D&D eXPerience: Core Mechanics (now compiled in 1st post!)

[TerraDave]

Opportunity Attacks: You can make up to one of these per each opponents turn. Moving away or by an opponent, or using a ranged attack adjacent triggers them. A fighter power allows the fighter to make an opportunity attack against an enemy that shifts (takes a 5' step).

 

[Lizard]

A better example of an Ability Check (adding 1/2 character level) than the arm wrestling example:


An NPC at the bar stands up and is going to attack your party member who has his back turned. You shout out a warning and kick a nearby stool into the NPC's path to trip him up.

Make a Dex (or Str depending, DM's call) against the NPC's Reflex.


Example 2: The NPC has jumped onto a table. You try to overturn the table and knock him to the ground. Str vs. his Reflex.

Crappy examples, I know, but I haven't finished my coffee. Just saying, I don't know how often arm wrestling would come into play, but in the above examples I wouldn't have any problems thinking that experience would help the character resolve his actions.

Doesn't this basically make skills meaningless?

I mean, what this all boils down to is:
a)Decide to do something.
b)The DM decides what attribute covers it (remember local history? Int. Kick down a door? Str.)
c)Roll 1d20+Attr Modifier+1/2 level to see if you do it. [1]

You can select certain broad categories of things to be very good at it. You get +5 with these.

If you want to spend a feat, you can get another +5, for a total of +10.

I honestly don't see why they bother with a skill system. You can go wholly free-form. EVERYTHING is now an untrained skill -- kick down a door, toss some darts, gamble, guzzle beer, there's no distinction between 'attribute checks' and 'skill checks'. So why bother with a skill system at all? Each DM can define, say, 15 categories of 'special uses for attributes' that fit his game, decide what attributes to base them one, and poof! All done!

[1]If I wanted to play Castles&Crusades, that's what I'd be playing.

 

[Voss]

Ranged combat: much simpler. There is however: supperior cover, but I don't know the penalty. And the -2 comes in a lot. Weapon ranges also seem a little more restrictive (only the Wizard, and maybe a ranger with a longbow, but not, say, the warlock, can hang back and throw stuff all over the room).

Question about that, since the pitiful range of the warlock worries me.

Can you take multiple move actions in 4e? The quicksheet describes the charge as a standard action, allowing you to move and attack. Can you take a move action to move then a standard action to charge? Thus moving at 2x spd? Because if so, the warlock will almost never be out of melee range of the enemies he's zapping.

 

[TerraDave]

Yes, that is how charges work. You also have the action point for each encounter to get a burst of movement.

As for the Warlock: he has got to move into the danger zone. The warlock from the playtest got concealment from moving, and he could use eybite to make himself invisible to a target: so he has things to help stay alive. And remember, thats why you have a defender.

In any case, in our playtests, the wizard (me) was getting pegged more then the warlock. 4E dungeons are dangerous places.

 

[hargert]

Also if the 3rd edition Warlock is any basis you may be able to get a power or feat to increase that range later on.

 

[mach1.9pants]

Doesn't this basically make skills meaningless?

I fit is anything like SWSE there some actions which are only possible if you are trained in that skill.
A +5 or +10 bonus is nothing to sniff at, at least until epic levels anyway

 

[EvolutionKB]

I believe they confirmed in the latest podcast that a high leve character basic attack does multiple dice of damage. So a first level fighter longsword may only do a d8 but a 23rd level fighter might be doing 3d8 or something like that.

 

[Fifth Element]

Not sure if anyone has posted anything about skills yet. Looks like:


Str: Athletics*
Con: Endurance
Dex: Acrobatics*, Stealth*, Thievery
Int: Arcana, History, Religion, Nature
Wis: Heal, Insight, Perception, Dungeoneering
Cha: Bluff, Diplomacy, Streetwise, Intimidate

* armour check penalty applies (-2 for medium, -4 for heavy)


Rangers and rogues get 6 trained skills, others get 4 (at least some classes have some preselected).


Halflings get +2 Acrobatics
Eladrin get +2 History (?)
Half-elves get +2 Insight
Tieflings get +2 Stealth
Rangers get +1 Nature (?)

We know elves get +2 Nature, +2 Perception as well. Seems odd there aren't more racial skill bonuses?


Skill Training feat allows you to be trained in a skill your class can't normally be trained in.

 

[Fallen Seraph]

* armour check penalty applies (-2 for medium, -4 for heavy)

That is a blessing for me, I almost always just wore leather so I wouldn't get penalties. Now I can actually take my pick of armour.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

I've got a few questions for anyone that was there (particularly if you played the warlock)

1: Any mention of why the warlock has a wizard spell? I didn't see any wizard training feat. Was it just a mistake?
2: The warlock's daily power: What does "Sustain Minor" mean? How does it work?
3: When something has a "Save ends" effect, is the first save attempt rolled before or after the first time the effect occurs?

I think that's about it.

Fitz